Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Challenges with Anastassia

The smile didnt last very long. Although both Puteri and Zaryff dia quite well in their exams, Anastassia did not. Which is not a suprise, really.

I'm really at a loss on how to handle Anastassia. And I'm not just talking about the exam results. She's been difficult to handle. It started last year but became unbearable this year.

Waking her up and getting her up in the morning is a chore. She would start kicking and wailing taknak bangun. The same happens if I wake her from her afternoon sleep for tuition. She would start wailing till I loose my temper.

Her school gives tonnes of homework. She has homework from tuition too. Tapi dia macam couldnt care less nak taknak buat. So I have to force her and duduk depan dia sampai dia habis homework. Ada one time tu, dia tak buat homework (dia tipu Helena kata dah habis). Tengok2 pukul 6:30 am lepas pakai baju sekolah, terkial2 nak buat homework. Padahal we leave for school at 6:40 am. So, apa nak buat. Ponteng la.

Bila Helena pikir balik, maybe she had it too easy before. Dia ni cerdik semacam. Cikgu dia kata dia ni ada photographic memory. From std 1, memang dia aje yg jadi best student. Anugerah punyala banyak dapat, padahal students lain nak dapat 1 anugerah pun is a big deal. And she accomplished all this without having to do a single thing. No effort at all on her side. Tak usik langsung buku dia.
(Pernah Mia menangis sebab sedih and confuse sebab Mia yg berhempas pulas belajar, tapi adiknya yg spend time with tv and reading story books yg dapat 100 memanjang)

But then bila masuk std 4 (and now std 5), obviously syllabus dah banyak. Masalahnya, dia still buat peel dia tu. Tak belajar, tak buat homwork kalau Helena tak leter and terpekik2 mengamuk. Dah lepas kena marah, dia buat kerja. Tapi itu pun sambil lewa aje.

So outcomenya, instead of getting good results, she gets average results aje. I dont mind kalau dia get results macam tu, kalau I nampak dia belajar. Tapi attitude dia yg dia taknak belajar dan berusaha langsung yang buat Helena naik darah!

Few months ago, dia start dengar lagu (with headphone) sambil buat homework. Bila Helena took the headphone away, dia mulala mengantuk and terlentuk. Bila kasi headphone balik, cergas dia dan berkobar2 buat homework sambil enjoy the songs. Helena tak berkenan budak2 belajar sambil dengar lagu. (Tapi pikir balik, some of my friends do that, and they score gila2 jugak.)

What should I do?

1. How to change attitude Anastassia ni?

2. What do you think about students yang belajar sambil dengar lagu? Masuk ke kat kepala apa yang dipelajari?

59 comments:

NBK466 said...

Sayang Anastassia yg cerdik tuh tetiba down score dia. Maybe Helena buleh talk heart to heart dgn dia tanya pasal keadaan disekolah, pasal cikgu or pasal kawan2 dia.

Well...setengah kanak2 nie mmg lain stail belajar mereka. Den dulu kalau buat MATH mmg lebih masyuk dgr lagu.. Tapi dlm membaca, menghafal tak leh.. As long kerja bia buat bagus with the help of music yg OK jugak... tak jadi masalah to me.

pB said...

pB pun ada masalah yang lebih kurang sama dengan anak no tiga pB tu...

Dia cerdik tapi nak suruh study, jenuh.
Kejab jer ok , lepas tu dia start lah dok mengacau kakak atau adik dia ...

Mengamuk lepas bangun tido, tak yah cakaplah ...
Kdg kdg terpaksa berkeras jugak ...

Hi hi, sorrylah kak halena.
Kak Halena minta nasihat.
pB pulak p ceriter masalah pB..

Mohon diampunnnnn ...

Sue said...

nasihat eh....dont tink ada. Cos my girl pun nak belajar ada mood swing dia.
Kalo part belajar dengar muzik...I'm 1 of them hehehe.
For me I dont hv prob nak serap pelajaran tu with the music on....but then, it's somting like multitasking. So it dpnds on the doer actually.

david santos said...

Please, it puts fhoto of Madeleine in your Bloggue

Missing Madeleine!
Madeleine, MeCann was abduted from Praia da Luz, Portugal on 03/03/07.

If you have any information, please contact Crimestoppers on
0800 555 111

Please Help

Kem Lambaian Danau said...

Helena, it's okay to dengar lagu sambil belajar. sebab otak kiri dan kanan bekerja. lagi okay, kalau sambil tuh, buat peta minda atau buat notes. that's what amalina (yg dapat 18As tuh) buat. dia boleh chat, dengar lagu dan belajar serentak ! and now dah ada program utk folder-folderkan otak :)Mereka panggil Program ni MaxiCall.

otak nih, lebih, lebih hebat dari computer - boleh multitask !

pastu mungkin anastassia nih jenis yg tak boleh pressure dia, dia cuma boleh bekerja tanpa tekanan.

cuba helena test dia, tanya dia suka bulatan atau square. kalau dia pilih bulat, confirm - jenis yg takleh dipaksa :)

tu jer lah yg i dpt tolong :)

kak g

izzsofead said...

I have the same problem with my daughter, Sofea. She one smart kid. But till now(she's in Std 2) she still don't understand the needs to study..but if you give her storybooks...she can read for hours... Anyway, Helena..I realised that she can't be forced to do something against her will. Now, instead of forcing her, I'll just nicely ask her to do certain pages from exercise books yg I beli berlambak tu. Not too many...and I give her more time to finish it...and I'll tell her- once she finished those exercise, she may proceed reading her story books...it seems to work..on her lah..There's an improvement...ader la dia buat ..ye lah..tak sabar2 nak bacer buku cerita lah katakan..Well I guess whatever your methods seem to work better....coz all your kids are bright students! Keep up the good works! sorry berjela sket...

Mr Hobo said...

i was like your kid ... I got good grades when i was in my primary school, even when dad had to come to school every now and then because tak pernah buat homework. but yet i still get to be the top student of the top class ...

until ....

i went to a boarding school. And then i realize that i am not that smart after all, there are people who are much smarter than me.

my point is this, by NOT learning anything or giving minimal effort ... the kid dapat top of the class ... dah dapat top nak pi mana lagi ... for her ... she thinks that she has achieved what YOU want her to achieve.

and ... giving her more work doesn't make things better.

She is bored, what she learns in school are things she already know.

Challenge her ... she needs more challenging stuffs and make it fun!

I know this coz i was once like that.

Intan said...

helena, i think she's at that rebellious age, when she's angry without even knowing why and she's probably taking it out on you by making you angry at her. then you'd be her reason.

as for studying while listening to music, i think that's normal unless it affect her studies.

Helena said...

nbk : memang sayang sangat. Because from day 1 dia menonjol. And then std 3 pergi wakil malaysia utk pertandingan story telling. Infact ramai yg kata dia akan/boleh jadi Head Girl next year.

But if results dah tak ok sekarang, pada Helena, nak jadi Head Girl tu jadi angan2 aje la. Selalunya nak jadi Head Girl must be top 10. She got 18 in March and May exam ni tak tau lagi.

sebenarnya, pada Helena, mungkin dia takde masalah. Dulupun, dia main2 aje. Tapi sebab syllabus sikit, and dia cepat tangkap, so dia jadi best student tanpa buat apa2. Tapi Helena tak sangka yg dia nak buat the same thing walaupun dah besar panjang ni. Yela, syllabus dah banyak and dah become tricky. So slack la resultsnya.

betul jugak cakap you pasal stail belajar dgn lagu....

Helena said...

pb, takpa at least kita boleh exchange opinions.

baru semalam my dad tegur Anastassia, (dia baru mandi selepas mengamuk sakan kena kejut utk pergi tuition) "Anastassia, your beauty sleep tak cukup lagi ke?"

Helena said...

minah celoteh, mmm kids with their mood swings. Were we like that before? hmmm..... hehe.

Oh, you pun belajar sambil dengar music ye.... mmm

Helena said...

david, hi, how are you? I think I saw the pic of madeleine in ruby's blog. It was also in the papers, I think!

Was she the one who was abducted from her own bedroom. Oopss, I'do better check again, maybe I got confused with another case.

OK, will do David. Hope she's safe and sound.

Helena said...

Hi kak G, thx for dropping by.

mmm, interesting info. Maxicall..... nanti nak check more. Helena mmg ajar my kids buat mind mapping. Baru 1 year start.

Nanti I ask her about the bulat or square question. I will let you know.

Anastassia ni memang a unique person. Suka buat experiment on ants. She can just look at the ants and their activities for hours. She is also the type who would ignore her homework, and just duduk kat corner baca encyclopedia on planets, the solar system, etc. Kadang2 rasa nak sorok aje encyclopedias tu.

p/s I suka square, so I boleh dipaksa2 la ye? hehe.

aNIe said...

Helena...masa anak kak lady kat tkc dulu ade dia beritau kawan dia sorang tu belajar memang dengan headphone dgr lagu....rasanya memang ada anak2 camtulah...so cuba tengok prestasi dia bila dia dengan headphone tu...

Anastassia tu anak ketiga ke? hehehe...sebab ade orang kata anak ketiga ni selalunya lain dari yang lain....ntahlah...maybe betul kot...

Anonymous said...

izzsofead, anastassia was just like sofea masa std 2. And thats how I get her to do the exercise books as well.

Tapi compare std2 and std 4/5, jauh bezanya. Vast diferrence between Tahap 1 and Tahap 2. In my girl's case lagi teruk sebab her school is the type yg kasi LOTS of homework. So unless its the school hols, she doesnt really have the time for story books, play computers and TVs. Sikit2 tu adatla, bukanla takda langsung.

Since dgn homework pun dia dah tercungap2, plus tuition lagi, So its hard for me to get her to do more studying.

(FYI Mia had no problems, walaupun workload dia dulu MORE than Anastassia now, sbb her Smart Reader classes belum habis, and she has go to for Taekwondo training every Monday and Thursday (8pm - 10 pm) and Saturdays (4pm to 7pm)

Entahla.... last night Anastassia refused to do her tuition homework and went to sleep at 9PM. Still pagi ni, masih wailing and menangis2 bila I kejut utk ke sekolah. Apa dia nak sebenarnya??

Anonymous said...

mr hobo, hey thx for dropping by.

You were like that? So u can relate to her la, kan. When she was tops in std 1 to std 3, I understood if she was bored. Her teacher once commented to her eldest sister, Mia "Kenapa adik awak nampak malas aje bila duduk dalam kelas?". (Anastassia got 100 in EVERY exam in this subject)

But now, nak bored apa. Eg her maths. She has yet to master her decimals and fractions. She didnt get good marks in her Maths exam. Dulu mmgla dia dapat highest aje, but not anymore. So NOW, no reason for her to get bored la kut?

Dulu2 (and now), I let her explore other things. Art class, piano class, buat movies with computer, etc. (semua dia choose) So its not that I just let her be, mmg Helena make sure she gets to explore her interest. Challenge her mind.

Mmm... yesterday sibuk dia kata dia and 2 other friends nak berlakon, buat short play on videocam and hantar for a contest. I cant remember what contest, tapi must be Disney channel related la... whereby who won will be able to meet up with Hanna Montana in Singapore. Hmmm.... malas I nak layan dah.

Anonymous said...

intan, I did wonder whether it has to do the rebellious age. Maybe kan ....

Helena taknak experiment kasi dia belajar with music, since she couldnt afford to slack in any of the std 5 exams. (kut tak menjadi)But since dah mmg slack pun, I guess why not kan. Lepas ni, I give her permission la, I hope it works.

Anonymous said...

kak lady, yela... mmg nak beri dia try belajar with music and tengok how she performs after this. I hope menjadi la.... if not lagi pening Helena.

Anastassia is my no2. Second child syndrom kut.... hehe

Sekarang ni I tak kasi dia (and my other kids) baca my blog, I dont want her to read this topic.

Fid said...

helena
mmg ada org yg WAJIB dengar lagu time study...maybe dia tak suka bising persekitaran.....

Darling said...

i masa study memang kena ada lagu, kalau tak rasa macam blur je nak baca or jawap soalan. kalau ada lagu, lagi konsentrate jadinya. agaknya Anastassia macam tu gak kut.

Makcik Runner said...

dulu masa pelajar cemerlang yg dapat 17a dlm spm tu, si amirah ada mention dlm paper camana dia belajar? dia jawab sambil dengar walkman.

in this case, i think let yr doter belajar cara dia. tak bagus gak kalo u terlalu force dia takut dia retaliate nanti lagi susah. remember what happen to the genius girl in UK - sufiah yusof? subhanallah...takde lah sampai nak terpikir camtu but budak2 ni bukan semua cara dia boleh ikut. kalo cara ni seswai ngan kakak dia tapi mungkin tak seswai ngan adik dia. maybe u should just go easy with her. let her choose her way to study as long dapat good exam grades, that should be fine.

Anonymous said...

I believe music must surely stimulate the part of the brain that controls memory. If you hear a nice song, you are likely to recall the melody or the lyrics, and some songs just never stop playing in your head. You're less likely to remember, say, a speech or the news. So I think it's plausible that music can help her study, and you should give it a go.

Btw, I hv a daughter about Anastassia's age too. Selalu buat h/w last minute, reads other books (of the quirky humour genre) but not buku sekolah. So far does well in exams, but you know, can't stop worrying.

Anon 2

13may said...

music mungkin buleh buta kita relaks sambil belajar....

so, tadak masalah....yg penting..focus!

MAMAMIA said...

I've been your silent reader. My eldest daughter pun suka dengar lagu while doing her homework. As long as she completes her work, I let her be. Maybe it'll take her longer time, that's all.

Pasal circle or square tu betul agaknya. Coz my daughter ni suka circle & memang tak boleh dipaksa-paksa.

Sorry to ask you this, but does Anastassia really need the tuition?

Kak Elle said...

helena its norm some of my anak sedara do that too and they did well in their exams....probably it gives them inspiration kot.

shafarina said...

Hmm.. what a story. Sis, takpe kot bagi dia dengar lagu sambil belajar tu, tapi ambil tahu lagu jenis apa yg dia dengar n tak kuat sangat kan. Saya dulu kena dengar fast songs utk study, baru semangat up sikit.

Anyhow, sy rasa Anastassia tu tengah cuba nak adapt dgn subjek2 baru tu. My humble 2cents la. :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Helena....

Akak pun pernah hadapi masalah anak merengek dgn anak kedua dulu. Setiap kali bangun pagi merengek2 dan melalak. Kena tengking dgn abah dia baru dia takut n masuk bilik air. Sampai sekarang akak tak pasti kenapa dan dia tak pernah bagitau apa yg dia nak sebenarnya. Alhamdulillah... benda tu selesai sendiri.... rasanya sbb dia dah ada rasa malu kat abah dia. Sekarang dah form 2.

Nampaknya Anastassia belum dpt sesuaikan lagi diri dia dgn cara belajar dgn lagu.... tapi rasanya dia perlukan sesuatu utk buangkan rasa bosan buat satu perkara shj dlm satu masa. Cuba slow talk dgn dia...

Unknown said...

My dear Helena,

To me Anastassia sounds like a gifted child aka genius. I think this sweet lil girl is suffering from fatigue or rather she's burnt out. She's bored out of her wits with everything that she already knows. She needs a change lah by the look of things.

This is sensitive as not many teachers are exposed or trained to understand quirky intelligent little kids. So I think maybe you seek advice of people who have dealth with gifted child.

I have no idea how to direct you. One way is to find out any of your friends who have children studying at any international school and make your way there (just an idea my dear) and speak to the principal and explain your situation.

Helena, I don't like to admit this, but at International schools they have the best for everything. My first hand experience. My sons studied in international schools when I was living abroad. I don't just mean facilities, the teachers employed kind pyschology with the kids.

But when they came back, they suffered studying in our normal school again. They regressed and showed obvious symptoms of boredom. I had to take action and rescue them and changed their school. Tough isn't it?

Unknown said...

Helena,

What I meant was for you just to have a word with a teacher who is exposed and have experience dealing with gifted kids, and many are available at international schools and perhaps that teacher could give you pointers, maybe he would say enrol her in a dance class or take up a special hobby that could perk her interest again. Such distratctions help kids a lot. That's what I meant and not to change school necessarily.

Mama Rock said...

i have to study with music on, kalau tak i fall asleep. maybe anastassia cam tu jugak kot. maybe too she feels that she has too much to handle. it's okay, dia baru std 4, nanti dah mature sikit, she will know how to prioritize. dont worry too much.

Helena said...

fid, yela, some people wajib dgr lagu. Tapi kalau pasal persekitaran tu, my house mmg senyap aje, so takde masalah bising. And mereka pun buat homework/study dalam study room, so ada privacy....

Helena said...

darling, oh yeke camtu.... mmm interesting.... nampaknya ramai jugak yg belajar with music.

I also realized that Mia pun dah start buat homework with music. Dulu she wasnt like that. Tapi since I know that she is responsible and mature enough to decide when and when not to listen to music, so I'm not worried la.

Helena said...

kc, thx for the advice. At this point, Helena dah decide nak kasi dia dgr lagu masa buat homework during the holidays ni. I hope to get positive results from her.

As parents, mmg susah nak differentiate between mendidik and dictate anak. Banyak gray area kat situ.

yela, sufiah retaliate dgn father dia kan. I read in the papers yg dia dah okay with the family but still refuse to see the father. If I'm not mistaken dia and hubby tgh buat PhD.

Helena said...

Hi Anon, thx for dropping by.

I'm beginning to realize that listening music while studying is common. hmmm... I was brought up with this being a no-no. hehe.

A friend of mine who reads my blog commented that Alyssa is just fine at school, that I shouldnt worry about her getting only belas-belas in kelas. Although I agree with her, I still think that I should make sure that Alyssa uses her potential to the fullest, and understand the need to do homework and do a LITTLE bit of studying. Sebenarnya, ATTITUDE dia tu yg Helena risaukan.....

Helena said...

13 may, I was just wondering, how well can we focus with the music drumming into our ears? Compared to focussing on something dalam keadaan sunyi dan tenang.

Unknown said...

Helena dear,

Sabenar nya I sebut International school sini pun, bukan semua orang dapat send their kids pun. Macam I accidental pun, sebab I worked overseas dulu. Since my kids studied in both of course I can compare. My twins studied in govt school here till std 4. Mak dato, sebab I kena travel a lot, my kids suffered. Kat sekolah dah lah kena mentally tortured with all sorts of stuff, ada one ustaz then, punya told my twins to speak in english is not islamic (memang lah unfortunate). I balik from a trip kena faced with this and I had to re-orientate my kids.

Nak tell the ustaz pulak I takut nanti adverse effect. So I had to explain in detail to my kids, what's the truth. I told them language is not the issue. I told them there are 40 m chinese in China who are muslims but speak chinese. So we can speak any language. I share to tell you, sometimes the problem is with the teachers but not all lah my dear.

I rasa I kesal our current educationist tak berapa mahir pakai psychology. Not totally their fault as they were not equipped when they were trained.

So I sebut International school sebab, bila you go there it is like a whole new world, and I feel unfair sangat kenapa anak2 kita tak dapat that kind of good service.

Helena said...

mamamia, thx for writing a comment this time round.

How old is your daughter? This hols, I'd just realized that my eldest, Mia also listens to music while doing her homework. I dont have problems with that, bec I know I can count on her to make sure that she doesnt overdo it. Especially these last few weeks where it HIT her how important it is to excel in exams. Not just bec mummy asked her to. (I hope for Anastassia to show me the same, or at least half of that. Or even a quarter.)

Tuition? hehe soalan cepumas tu. FYI I start sending my children for tuition when they are in std 4. Anastassia started at std 3 bec dia nangis2 nonstop nak pergi tuition.

I sent Mia to tuition for her to continue being in the top 10 in school and try to better the number. She managed to get no 5 once.

I sent Anastasia for tuition for her to continue being at the top. Since I know I cannot expect her to get no1 in school all the time, I just told her to do her best.

I know my expectation of my children is quite high. They go to a school which produces very high number of 5As in UPSR. Most parents (maybe me too) are very ambitious for their children. Tapi I taklah seteruk my chinese friend yang hantar anak dia to TWO tuition teachers for BM since std 1! All her kids mmgla dapat best student for BM every time.

But pls understand, that I dont push my children tak pasal2. My style is to ensure they have strong basics bila masuk std 1. Bila ada strong basics, it will be smooth sailing sebenarnya... Infact, Anastassia's sister, Puteri (std 2) is having fun at school and at home while maintaining good results. No pressure there. Tapi bila nak exam tu, kena baca buku la kan...

Helena said...

kak elle, yela lagu ni boleh bagi semangat kut.... jangan yg mendayu macam orang frust bercinta, sudah! hehe.

Helena said...

wan.... mmm Anastassia does not have problems nak paham the syllabus, cuba dia taknak berusaha langsung.... fenin.....

Helena said...

syaze, yela kadang2 ragam anak2 ni lain kan.... Helena dah slow talk dgn dia, but couldnt get anything out of her. I'll try again....

I really hope she matures and see things my way as she gets older..... macam anak you tu....

Helena said...

Hi Ruby, thx for sharing your thots. I wouldnt say that Anastassia is a genius, but maybe a bit gifted. I realized this after talking to some of her teachers when she was in std 1. One teacher said that she has a photographic memory, which make sense bec she doesnt study at home and yet get 100 in her exams.

There was once when she was in std 3, I sat in front of her doing science together with her. She wasnt in the mood, but I forced her as she has not done any preparation at all for the paper that she's gonna sit the next day. I was really frustrated that she answered all questions wrong, she looked confused, sleepy, uninterested, with a couldnt care less look. After having no success with her I just told her to sleep. (Actually I was about to lose my temper and I dont want to do that the night of exams) Guess what she got for Science? Highest in the whole of std 3!

I will contact my friend who teaches at one of the International Schools in KL. Thx for the advice, tak terpikirpun I. I acknowledge the fact that International schools are great esp when handling cases like this.

I did study in an International school in the US in my primary days. So I understand what you mean. A friends of mine also sent her dyslexic son to an International school last year and she was so happy to see how much her son improved, compared to before.

Like right now, I told the kids at 9am just now to do their homework. Mia, Puteri and even Little Zaryff is now in the studyroom, sitting at the table, concertrating with school work. Where is Anastassia? On the couch in the living room, surrounded with her enyclopedia books, reading about the Romans..... mmm.... dah terjelir tekak suruh dia buat homework.... taknak jugak...

Helena said...

mamarock.... yela I pun taknak worry too much.... inipun blood pressure dah naik... hehe...

I really do hope that she changes, I need to understand what makes her tick.... mmm... kalau I tau, I ambik psychology course dulu,.... hehe

Helena said...

Dearest Ruby,

But you are definitely right, us Malaysians/Asians use less psychology compared to the westerns.

I really do understand what your kids had to go tru. I came back to Msia with no rememberance at all of the Malay language. Tak tau cakap melayu langsung. (There was no Asians at all, the place we went to)

I masuk BBGS, hating everything about it, I was the girl who tak tau cakap BM, who speaks English funny .... after few months, my dad got transfered again, moved to a different school, and still kena ejek sbb although my BM improved (my parents start ban English at home) I still talk funny and with an accent. (Sadly not anymore...hehe)

My friends who just started teaching at the International school pun kata, its really a different world, there.

Thanks again for sharing, Ruby. Really2 appreciate it, dear.

Anonymous said...

That's funny. I spent part of my primary years abroad too. Came back at 10 with an American slang. Could understand some spoken Malay, but didn't have the confidence to speak it myself. I basically learnt Malay from the lyrics sheet of old Sudirman songs. Then packed off to SBP from Form 1. Ironically, my kids who have lived in Malaysia all their lives are both very uncomfortable speaking Malay. These days kids are just bombarded with English: Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, they even insist watching Astro Ceria in English!

It's often said that our education system is too exam oriented, with a strong emphasis on rote memory. This is so true. Not so long ago I had in my office a couple of 2nd year students from UIA doing their holiday attachments, and I found that they were frighteningly ignorant about things outside their narrow field of study. One of them couldn't even mention one country (out of 5) that has the veto power on the UN Security Council. And they're supposed to be at university, you know, at the prime of their intellectual flowering.

I suppose we can overdo emphasising on exams. I do recognise that exam results are important, esp. if you want to secure a place at the SBPs. But in the long run I believe critical thinking, creativity, initiative and the courage to act differently are more important than being, say, an alumnus of MCKK or TKC.

And from your description, Anastasia seems to have these qualities in spades. By not doing her homework and tuition, I think she's demonstrating a point: that there's no point of doing h/w and tuition if all she has to deliver at the end of the day are good exam results. She has a more efficient way (which saves time and money) of delivering good exam results: her photographic memory!

But if you're more concern about her attitude to work, then you may need to change the task to something more challenging. Otherwise, all you'll be teaching her is that she has to conform to norms.

Anon 2 (sorry komen panjang sangat)

cikdinz said...

kena tau apa masalah dia. maybe dia tak suka school tuh, tak suka cikgu baru, kawan beri pengaruh yg tak elok, subjek yg membosankan, takde kawan kat school....

ada mcm-mcm faktor.

Anonymous said...

Hi Anon, hey it seems that we do have something in common eh?

After coming back from the US, my parents totally spoke BM all the way, to assist me with my zero remembrance of the language. And now I'm comfortable in both languages, in fact throughout my schooling days, I can score my English and BM without any effort at all. However, my tendancy of speaking rojak (thx to my banking days)made my usage of the languages go haywire.

When I was in form 1, we were already packing for my dad's 5 yr assignment to Geneva. However, 2 weeks before leaving, he had heart problems and he decided to let go of the assignment. I always wondered should we have went. Obviously I wont be the same Helena as I am now hehe....


The reasons that I want the kids to do well in their primary is to ensure a place in SBP. I realized after my experience with Mia, its REALLY REALLY difficult to get into an SBP nowadays. And after attending the dialogue with MOE, confirm mmgla luck plays a big role jugak.

After SBP, I wont watch them like a hawk the way I do now. By this time they shud be mature enough to decide their study patterns.

Thanks for sharing yr thots. Twas really helpful, dear.

Anonymous said...

cik dinz..... adeh penat Helena melayan yg sorang nih.... si Mia pun menggeleng2 kepala tengok kerenah adik dia....

zino said...

masaalah kejut tidur ni berlaku pasal alang masa kecik2 dulu.. sape tak kenal alang..

kemana pegi sure melalak bila di kejut tertidur dalam kereta hehe
skrg alang dah besar panjang hehe

J.T. said...

Hello Helena
I hopped over from Ruby Ahmad's blog. All I can say is this - you have one intelligent child on your hands.
I believe every child is unique (genius or not) and handling them according to their personality will give positive results.
As for studying with music, I did that when I was growing up. My parents could not understand how I did it. It used to irk my dad. I was not a child genius but it helped me get through my homework. :)

Mak Su said...

Hai... saja drop by kat sini. Setiap insan berbeza, tapi dari segi study, kalau dah gifted macam tu, cuma kena asah lagi dengan practice and practice. Ada gak orang boleh study dengar radio, but not me.. hehehe, nanti leka menyanyi plaks.

aNIe said...

Hai helena...lamanya menyepi...sibuk ke...just drop by to say hello...

13may said...

salam...
jenguk jenguk kak Helena:)

D said...

This is quite a common thing that happens to children. Some are quick learners, but they just deteriorate as time gets on either because they lose interest, lose momentum or get fed up. It's quite true, our education system is SO bad (maap, Malaysia!) that learning is no fun and everything's rigid. If you have the money, you can send her to an International School, if not, you could always just train her youself - and forget the whole system! I did that with my kids because the school (teachers, system & environment) weren't healthy at all... Don't worry, it's a phase. Still, it's good to think of solutions or ways of tackling it.

Helena said...

zino..... masalahnya Anastasia pun dah besar panjang.... hehe

Helena said...

JT, thanks for dropping by. And appreciate for sharing your experiences.

I have started letting Anastassia do her homework with music, and wow.... she really concerntrated with her homework for 3 hours without a peep! And she seems to enjoy doing her schoolwork now. At the moment, I'm trying to check whether she remembered what she learnt tru the exercises/homework, or is it just music..... hehe.

Anonymous said...

maksu, thx for dropping by.

Itulah yang risau tu, nanti bila dia asyik dengar lagu, apa yg belajar tak masuk, tapi lirik lagu pulak yang hafal.... hehe.

Anonymous said...

kak lady, tgh sibuk ngopek ngan Mia.... hehe. Actually banyak kerja office yg nak disiapkan sebelum pergi holiday.

Anonymous said...

13may, jenguk2 la selalu, you are always welcomed here.

Anonymous said...

d, I'm trying to give her the best opportunities available here, thats why you would never see me tak ada problem dalam bab education ni.... hehe.

International school? My plans are just to expose them as much as possible and aim for a GOOD boarding school.

I've studied in an International School during my primary years in the US way back in 1970s. Even zaman tuk kaduk tu pun they are much better than the system here, NOW.